Violent crime in US on the rise: FBI report

[JURIST] Violent crime - consisting of violent murders, robberies and aggravated assaults - increased in 2005 for the first time since 2001, according to the Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report [text; press release; additional materials] released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation [official website] Monday. Murders increased by 23 percent in Houston, 14 percent in Philadelphia and 10 percent in Las Vegas, while the Midwest had the largest increase, 5.7 percent, in overall crime last year. The overall increase in violent crime for the country, however, was a modest 2.5 percent. The 2005 data show the first major increase in violent crime since it peaked in 1992 and fell steadily until 2000.

About Paper Chase

Paper Chase is JURIST's real-time legal news service, powered by a team of 30 law student reporters and editors led by law professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. As an educational service, Paper Chase is dedicated to presenting important legal news and materials rapidly, objectively and intelligibly in an accessible format.